At what point do you leave a church? This is a question that many pastors face. They take up a call at a new church, have a nice honeymoon period, and then they settle in for the grind. For some, they receive significant criticism for one reason or another.

Criticism and the pastorate go hand in hand—it’s simply a fact of life. Spend any amount of time in the pastorate and people will express criticism about your ministry. The plain and simple fact is, you can’t please everyone all the time.

From a very early age my parents taught me that your conduct with small things indicates your attitudes and likely performance with the big things in life. My dad would tell me, “How you treat your bicycle as a child is likely indicative how you’ll treat your car when you’re an adult.”

One of the most challenging things I encountered when I first attended seminary was the number of new terms and words. I think terminology, whether the technical terms of theology, or the fancy fifty-cent words scholars like to use, can be intimidating.